The Structure Of Jamaica Kincaid's Girl

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“Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid is a short story that is about how a mother is giving advice to her daughter. The structure of the short story is in a how-to list form. She’s telling her about life, cooking, cleaning, men, and her reputation. The mother constantly reminds her daughter of how to become the "perfect" woman in order to fit into the society that they live in . Some themes represented in this story are that a woman should be domestic and should act a certain way and that parents can be bossy towards their kids. The structure of Jamaica Kincaid short story “Girl” is being told in a how-to list form with the character of the story being constantly told how to do something through the entirely of the story, twice in the story the girl interrupts to ask a question or defend herself “but I don’t sing benna on Sundays at all and never in Sunday school” (Kincaid ) which implies that she doesn't sing benna which is genre of Antiguan and Barbudan music on sundays. This relates to the structure because the story is being told through told in a how-to list format and when her mom would tell her something she would defend herself. Despite the fact that the short story is mostly about being taught the propers ways to do things and act one of the themes represented in this story are that a woman should be domestic and should act a certain way. “cook pumpkin …show more content…

Throughout the story you are mostly only hearing what the mother says although the daughter does say a few words most of it is the mother's. In the mother’s lines she just keeps saying about what she thinks about her daughter, and not what she thinks the daughter thinks. Also it seems the mother doesn't really care to know more about her daughter. Jamaica Kincaid story “Girl” effectively demonstrates a mother daughter relationship in which the mother wants her daughter growing up to be and act a certain

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